Scene from a story
by A.J. Grey
Summary: Ok this is a very rough draft of a scene from a story. It will probably undergo a lot of rewrites and changes as I progress. But anyways here it is in all its bald unpolished glory. Cheers!


**This is a very rough draft of a scene from a story; it will probably undergo a lot of rewrites and changes as I progress but here it is in all its bald unpolished glory. Cheers!**

* * *

_The lid of the mahogany casket was closed and covered in a spray of pastel flowers; the sickly sweet scent of the blooms was almost nauseating. At the head of the casket was a table displaying Jason's recent school picture. The Red Ranger felt his chest clench as he realized this service was for him._

_NO! This can't be real!_

_Two figures suddenly entered the room, dressed head to toe in black. Jason recognized his parents immediately. His mother's face was red and swollen as she continued to wipe the tears from her cheeks. His father was trying very hard to remain stoic for his wife but the slight tremble of his lips and his rapid blinking gave him away._

"_My baby can't be dead. Its not true!" his mom wailed, dropping to her knees in front of Jason's photo._

_Mr. Scott knelt down and hugged the agonized mother to his chest._

"_I know, honey, I know," he tried to soothe her._

_Tears sprang to Jason's eyes and he rushed forward to show them he wasn't dead._

"_Mom! Dad! Please, I'm right here!"_

_There was no response; they didn't seem to hear him. Reaching out, Jason tried to grab his father's shoulder; his hand went right through him._

_No! Oh God, no!_

"_Mom! Dad!" he yelled louder. Still nothing. _

_Jason dropped to his knees near them, chest heaving as he still tried to touch them._

_They killed me! They really killed me! _

_Wracked with sobs, the Red Ranger lowered his head to the carpet in a spasm of grief._

_Thunder boomed outside so loud and close, Jason's head shot up with panic. The lights in the ornate fixtures flickered briefly. He was alone; his parents were gone. He wasn't sure how much time had passed but for some reason he no longer was hysterical._

_Shakily he got to his feet and tearfully made his way to the window. The glass was covered in streams of water as the rain poured down outside. Again, a loud ominous crack of thunder. The Red Ranger jumped and wrapped his arms around himself as he shivered, lips trembling as tried to be brave._

_Turning from the scene outside, he realized something had changed while his back was turned. His school picture. The beautiful color photo that his mother proudly displayed in the living room was now black and white. His eyes had been x-ed out and bright red blood streaked down his face and eerily was dripping on the carpet. Jason's warm smile was replaced by an open mouthed scream of pain._

_At that moment, the lid of the coffin lifted almost imperceptibly and then lowered. The teen's eyes widened and he pressed himself to the wall as he continued to stare. Again, the lid slightly lifted and Jason could see the white and red glove before it lowered._

_More thunder and then the lights flickered once and went out. The room was very dark; the only light coming from the window. Jason ran towards the double doors. He wanted to run out of this room, out of this building. _

_I don't want to see it!_

_The doors refused to budge. He yanked and tugged, pushed and butted up against the door with all his weight. It was like he was a moth in a bottle. They were not going to open. Jason squeezed his eyes tightly and tried to listen for movement from the casket, praying fervently that it was all his imagination._

_A prolonged and high pitched creak sent his heart clamoring. The soft swish of the flowers as they tumbled to the floor. The slight groan of the alter as weight was being shifted. He whirled around in horror._

_Behind him, a bloody, battered Red Ranger stiffly sat up in the casket. Slowly and with effort the red helmet turned in Jason's direction. Jason was frozen to the spot, his mouth open and eyes wide._

_The dead Ranger managed to climb out of the coffin and began to walk towards the trapped teen; the legs were straight and stiff, one hand lay against his abdomen in the same position it was in while in the casket. The other hand dangled limply. _

_Jason turned and tried again and again to open the door. He didn't want the corpse near him. The thought of it touching him made him feel like vomiting. It was also very disorienting seeing this Red Ranger who was him but yet not him make its way between the arranged chairs._

_He felt a slight tickle as the dead fingers grasped part of his shirt near the collar and began to tug weakly. The hair on the back of his neck went up and he shuddered violently._

"_LEAVE ME ALONE!"_

_His shirt was released as the deceased Red Ranger reached up and removed his helmet. Jason heard the distinctive pop of the clasps and as much as he didn't want to look, he slowly turned his head._

_He screamed so loudly he began to choke and gag. The person in front of him was obviously dead and had suffered a devastating head injury. Part of the skull was smashed in and the head itself was misshapen. There were no eyes, only empty black sockets that oozed blood down his pale greyish skin. The lips were dry and cracked and held very tightly together. In an instant of crazed clarity, Jason remembered a television program mentioning that corpses had their gums sewn shut to keep the mouth from hanging agape. Somehow, he just knew that the corpse had no tongue, that it was cut out of his head by Goldar. _

_Jason pressed himself harder against the door and averted his eyes from the horrifying sight before him. He heard the dead Ranger growl low in his clotted, dry throat but he couldn't bring himself to look upon him again. He closed his eyes tightly._

_Dead, cold fingers were lightly touching his face as the creature continued to growl..._

Thunder boomed and brought Jason screaming in petrified terror out of his nightmare. He wanted to jump up and turn on lights, to rush into his parents' room, anything to make heart slow down and stop his shaking.

As he tried to get up, the cold metal chains bit into his sensitive wrists and held tightly to his waist and ankles. The Red Ranger was still being held captive by the evil Green Ranger and Goldar, both of whom systematically tortured Jason. He wasn't dead yet but that possibility still loomed.


End file.
